The effectiveness of protected areas in the conservation of species with changing geographical ranges

Abstract

A cornerstone of conservation is the designation and management of protected areas (PAs): locations often under conservation management containing species of conservation concern, where some development and other detrimental influences are prevented or mitigated. However, the value of PAs for conserving biodiversity in the long term has been questioned given that species are changing their distributions in response to climatic change. There is a concern that PAs may become climatically unsuitable for those species that they were designated to protect, and may not be located appropriately to receive newly‐colonizing species for which the climate is improving. In the present study, we analyze fine‐scale distribution data from detailed resurveys of seven butterfly and 11 bird species in Great Britain aiming to examine any effect of PA designation in preventing extinctions and promoting colonizations. We found a positive effect of PA designation on species' persistence at trailing‐edge warm range margins, although with a decreased magnitude at higher latitudes and altitudes. In addition, colonizations by range expanding species were more likely to occur on PAs even after altitude and latitude were taken into account. PAs will therefore remain an important strategy for conservation. The potential for PA management to mitigate the effects of climatic change for retracting species deserves further investigation. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, ●●, ●●–●●.

Protected areas act as a buffer against detrimental effects of climate change—Evidence from large‐scale, long‐term abundance data

“…This may be explained by the high proportion of old-growth boreal forests in the Finnish PAs which has been shown to have positive effects on the specialization of the avian community (Häkkilä et al, 2017). Our results add to the accumulating evidence underscoring the importance of PAs which have previously been shown to aid persistence of northern species at temperate region by studying occurrences (Gillingham, Bradbury et al, 2015) and to facilitate the adaptation of northern species to temperature changes (Gaüzère, Jiguet, & Devictor, 2016), as well as support more cold-dwelling bird communities (Santangeli et al, 2017) by investigating changes in the thermal signature of bird communities (Devictor, Julliard, Couvet, & Jiguet, 2008). This result is particularly relevant in light of climate change in the boreal biome being predicted to be much more rapid than that in other regions, carrying serious consequences for ecosystems and associated wildlife (Loarie et al, 2009).…”

“…The average reliance on PAs was low in southern species (mean PA reliance [0.39 ± 0.19 SD]), and the under-representation of species strongly reliant on PAs in the south may be an explanation for the lack of relationship between PA reliance and abundance outside PAs in the 70s-80s. Species with a high reliance on PAs may use PAs as stepping stones when moving into new areas (Hiley, Bradbury, Holling, & Thomas, 2013 Our large-scaled long-term study provides quantitative evidence on the performance of PAs under climate change and as the previous studies concentrate to the temperate region (e.g., Gillingham, Alison, et al, 2015;Gillingham, Bradbury, et al, 2015;Thomas et al, 2012;Watson et al, 2014), widens the current knowledge to cover also boreal region. This suggests that PAs are important for expanding populations of southern species with high PA reliance; a conclusion also reached by studies based on occurrence data on birds and butterflies (Gillingham, Bradbury, et al, 2015) and abundance categories on odonates and butterflies (Gillingham, Alison, Roy, Fox, & Thomas, 2015).…”

“…Based on previous studies conducted using occurrence data (Gillingham, Bradbury, et al, 2015;Hannah et al, 2007;Monzón et al, 2011;Thomas et al, 2012;Watson et al, 2014), we hypothesize that abundance changes between the two time periods at both trailing and leading range edges are more positive inside PAs than outside. This means that (a) abundances of northern species, the ranges of which are retracting toward the north, will have declined less inside PAs than outside on the trailing range edge.…”

“…These shortcomings relate to species moving outside the network of PAs under shifting climatic conditions (Hannah et al, 2007). PAs have also been found to facilitate species range expansions (Thomas et al, 2012) and are suggested to help species to persist on trailing edges of contracting or moving distributions (Gillingham, Bradbury et al, 2015). PAs have also been found to facilitate species range expansions (Thomas et al, 2012) and are suggested to help species to persist on trailing edges of contracting or moving distributions (Gillingham, Bradbury et al, 2015).…”

Changes in the abundance and distribution of a montane specialist bird, the DotterelCharadrius morinellus, in the UK over 25 years

“…The decline in numbers of Dotterel within and outwith the SPA network is of concern, but in terms of site occupancy, sites in SPA/SSSIs were more likely to be occupied than those outside the protected area network. Indeed, protected area designation has been shown to have a positive effect on species persistence for a group of northern species at the trailing edge of their distribution in the UK, although this effect decreased at higher latitudes and altitudes (Gillingham et al 2015).…”